Nearly half of German women sexually harassed at work

Forty-eight percent of German women have experienced sexual harassment on the job at least once, while 7 percent frequently encounter behavior they perceive as sexist, acccording to a poll released Friday by YouGov.

Among male respondents, 28 percent reported at least one instance of sexual harassment.

Almost half the men who experienced harassment said it didn't particularly bother them, an attitude shared by only 14 percent of women who have been sexually harassed.

The survey also showed that behavior considered sexual harassment depends a lot on the situation and the person.

In all, 26 percent described dirty jokes as sexist, compared with 29 percent who do not see them that way.

For 78 percent of respondents, compliments about articles of clothing are totally inoffensive.

Meanwhile, 7 percent of men and 14 percent of women consider sexism a big problem in Germany.

The poll, taken in late January among more than 1,000 people, coincides with the accusations of sexual harassment brought by a young female political journalist against the parliamentary leader of the Free Democratic Party, Rainer Brüderle.